Zephaniah 2:13

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate, as dry as the desert.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְיֵ֤ט יָדוֹ֙ עַל־צָפ֔וֹן וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד אֶת־אַשּׁ֑וּר וְיָשֵׂ֤ם אֶת־נִֽינְוֵה֙ לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה צִיָּ֖ה כַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃

Transliteration

And-yēṭ yādô ʿal-ṣāp̄ôn wîʾabbēd ʾeth-ʾaššûr wəyāśēm ʾeth-nînəwēh lišəmāmâ ṣiyyâ kammidbar

Grammar Details

• *yēṭ*: qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular with waw consecutive - and he will stretch out
• *yādô*: noun, feminine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his hand
• *ʿal-ṣāp̄ôn*: preposition + noun, feminine singular - against north
• *wîʾabbēd*: piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular with waw consecutive - and he will destroy
• *ʾeth-ʾaššûr*: direct object marker + proper noun - Assyria
• *wəyāśēm*: qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular with waw consecutive - and he will make
• *ʾeth-nînəwēh*: direct object marker + proper noun - Nineveh
• *lišəmāmâ*: preposition + noun, feminine singular - for desolation
• *ṣiyyâ*: noun, feminine singular - dry/parched region
• *kammidbar*: preposition + definite article + noun, masculine singular - like the wilderness

Word Meanings

• *yēṭ yādô*: stretch out his hand/extend his hand
• *ʿal-ṣāp̄ôn*: against the north/against the northern kingdom
• *wîʾabbēd*: and destroy/and cause to perish
• *lišəmāmâ*: for desolation/for waste/for horror
• *ṣiyyâ*: dry land/parched ground/drought

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he will stretch out{H5186} his hand{H3027} against the north,{H6828} and destroy{H6} Assyria,{H804} and will make{H7760} Nineveh{H5210} a desolation,{H8077} and dry{H6723} like the wilderness.{H4057}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he will stretch out{H5186}{(H8799)} his hand{H3027} against the north{H6828}, and destroy{H6}{(H8762)} Assyria{H804}; and will make{H7760}{(H8799)} Nineveh{H5210} a desolation{H8077}, and dry{H6723} like a wilderness{H4057}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Yee he shall stretch out his honde ouer the north, and destroye Assur. As for Niniue, he shal make it desolate, drye and waist.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And he wil stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Asshur, and will make Nineueh desolate, and waste like a wildernesse.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Yea he shall stretch out his hande ouer the north, and destroy Assur: As for Niniue he shall make it desolate, drye, and waste.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  He will stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And He stretcheth His hand against the north, And doth destroy Asshur, And he setteth Nineveh for a desolation, A dry land like a wilderness.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And his hand will be stretched out against the north, for the destruction of Assyria; and he will make Nineveh unpeopled and dry like the waste land.

• World English Bible (2000)

  He will stretch out his hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  The LORD will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert.

Referenced Verses

• Nah 3:7 : 7 Everyone who sees you will flee from you, saying, 'Nineveh is devastated! Who will mourn for her? Where can I find anyone to comfort you?'
• Isa 10:12 : 12 When the Lord has finished all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will punish the pride of the king of Assyria's heart and the glory of his haughty eyes.
• Isa 10:16 : 16 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of Hosts, will send leanness among his robust ones, and under his glory, a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.
• Nah 1:1 : 1 This is a pronouncement concerning Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
• Nah 2:10-11 : 10 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the abundance of all treasures. 11 Devastation, desolation, and destruction! Hearts melt, knees tremble, loins shake, and all faces turn pale.
• Ps 83:8-9 : 8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre. 9 Even Assyria has joined them; they have strengthened the descendants of Lot. Selah.
• Isa 11:11 : 11 In that day, the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant of his people who are left from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
• Ezek 31:3-9 : 3 Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches, dense shade, and towering height, its top reaching among the thick clouds. 4 The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, sending its rivers around its planting place, and they watered all the trees of the field. 5 So it grew taller than all the trees of the field; its branches multiplied, and its boughs grew long because of the abundance of water as it sent them out. 6 All the birds of the sky nested in its branches, every beast of the field gave birth under its boughs, and all the great nations lived in its shade. 7 It was majestic in its size, with long branches, because its roots reached abundant waters. 8 The cedars in God's garden could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare to its branches, and the plane trees were not like its boughs. No tree in the garden of God was equal to it in beauty. 9 I made it beautiful with its many branches, and all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, envied it. 10 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because it grew tall, lifting its top among the clouds, and its heart became arrogant because of its height, 11 I handed it over to a mighty ruler among the nations; he dealt with it according to its wickedness. I drove it out. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, cut it down and abandoned it. Its branches fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs were broken in all the ravines of the earth, and all the nations of the earth left its shade. 13 All the birds of the sky rested on its fallen trunk, and all the wild animals were among its branches. 14 This happened so that no trees beside the abundant waters may grow tall enough to reach the clouds, nor lift their tops among the thick branches, and no trees that drink water will stand before them in their height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the lower earth, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit. 15 This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day it went down to Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered the deep because of it, restrained its rivers, and held back the abundant waters. I clothed Lebanon in gloom because of it, and all the trees of the field withered away over it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to Sheol along with those who descend to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower earth. 17 They too went down to Sheol with it, to join the slain by the sword, along with its supporters who had lived in its shadow among the nations. 18 To whom can you be compared in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you too will be brought down to the lower earth, lying among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Lord GOD.
• Mic 5:6 : 6 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man nor depend on the sons of men.
• Nah 3:15 : 15 There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down. It will consume you like the young locusts. Multiply yourselves like locusts; increase yourselves like swarming locusts.
• Nah 3:18-19 : 18 Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles lie down in slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them. 19 There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear the news about you will clap their hands over you. For who has not suffered your endless cruelty?
• Zech 10:10-11 : 10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, but there will not be enough room for them. 11 They will cross the sea of distress, striking the waves, and the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will pass away.